From June 2015 to September 2015 gross job losses in private sector establishments in Louisiana totaled 100,050, while gross job gains numbered 98,922, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 1,128, compared to the previous quarter when gross job losses exceeded gross job gains by 6,618. (See chart 1.)

The change in the number of jobs over time is the net result of increases and decreases in employment that occur at all businesses in the economy. Business Employment Dynamics (BED) statistics track these changes in employment at private business establishments from the third month of one quarter to the third month of the next. Gross job gains are the sum of increases in employment from expansions at existing establishments and the addition of new jobs at opening establishments. Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of jobs at closing establishments. The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses is the net change in employment. (See the Technical Note for more information.)

The number of gross job losses in Louisiana fell by more than 8,700 between June and September 2015 after increasing by about 800 in the previous quarter. (See chart 1.) Louisiana’s gross job losses have remained above 100,000 for three consecutive quarters. Gross job gains declined by more than 3,200 in the three months ended in September 2015 after increasing by about 3,400 in the previous quarter.

Gross job losses represented 6.2 percent of private sector employment in Louisiana in the quarter ended in September 2015, while nationally gross job losses accounted for 5.8 percent of private employment. (See chart 2.) Louisiana’s rates of gross job loss have exceeded the national averages since the second quarter of 2009. Gross jobs gains in the state also represented 6.2 percent of private sector employment in the latest period, compared to the national rate of 6.1 percent. With only two exceptions (June 2013 and June 2015), Louisiana’s rates of gross job gain have equaled or exceeded the U.S. rates for over a decade since December 2004.

During the third quarter of 2015, Louisiana gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in 7 of the 11 industry sectors. The information and manufacturing sectors experienced the largest net job losses during the quarter. While 1,926 jobs were created at opening and expanding establishments in the information sector, 3,822 jobs were lost at closing and contracting establishments for a net loss of 1,896. In manufacturing, 4,924 jobs were created in opening and expanding establishments while 6,564 jobs were lost in closing and contracting establishments, resulting in a net loss of 1,640. (See table 1.)

Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in four industry sectors in the state. The construction and education and health services sectors had the largest net job gains in this quarter. In the construction sector, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 3,002. Although 10,897 jobs were lost at closing and contracting establishments, 13,899 jobs were gained at opening and expanding establishments. Within education and health services, gross job gains exceeded gross job losses by 2,783.

Additional statistics and other information

BED data for the states have been included in table 2 of this release. For more information on the Business Employment Dynamics data, visit the BED web site at www.bls.gov/bdm/.

The Business Employment Dynamics release for Fourth Quarter 2015 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, July 27, 2016.

Technical Note

The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) data are a product of a federal-state cooperative program known as Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), or the ES-202 program. The BED data are compiled from existing QCEW records. The QCEW reports are sent by the State Employment Security Agencies (SESAs) to BLS and form the basis of the Bureau’s QCEW program and establishment universe sampling frame. These reports are also used to produce the QCEW data on total employment and wages. Other important Bureau uses of the QCEW reports are in the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program. The CES program produces monthly estimates of employment, net changes, and earnings by detailed industry.

In the BED program, the QCEW records are linked across quarters to provide a longitudinal history for each establishment. The linkage process allows the tracking of net employment changes at the establishment level, which in turn allows the estimation of jobs gained at opening and expanding establishments and jobs lost at closing and contracting establishments.

The change in the number of jobs over time is the net result of increases and decreases in employment that occur at all businesses in the economy. BED statistics track these changes in employment at private business establishments from the third month of one quarter to the third month of the next. Gross job gains are the sum of increases in employment from expansions at existing establishments and the addition of new jobs at opening establishments. Gross job losses are the result of contractions in employment at existing establishments and the loss of jobs at closing establishments. The difference between the number of gross jobs gained and the number of gross jobs lost is the net change in employment.

Gross job gains and gross job losses are expressed as rates by dividing their levels by the average of employment in the current and previous quarters. The rates are calculated for the components of gross job gains and gross job losses and then summed to form their respective totals. These rates can be added and subtracted just as their levels can. For instance, the difference between the gross job gains rate and the gross job losses rate is the net growth rate.

The formal definitions of employment changes are as follows:

Openings. These are either establishments with positive third month employment for the first time in the current quarter, with no links to the prior quarter, or with positive third month employment in the current quarter following zero employment in the previous quarter.

Expansions. These are establishments with positive employment in the third month in both the previous and current quarters, with a net increase in employment over this period.

Closings. These are either establishments with positive third month employment in the previous quarter, with no employment or zero employment reported in the current quarter.

Contractions. These are establishments with positive employment in the third month in both the previous and current quarters, with a net decrease in employment over this period.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request: voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Private sector gross job gains and losses by industry, Louisiana, seasonally adjusted

Category	Gross job gains and job losses (3 months ended)					Gross job gains and job losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
	Sept. 2014	Dec. 2014	Mar. 2015	June 2015	Sept. 2015	Sept. 2014	Dec. 2014	Mar. 2015	June 2015	Sept. 2015
Total private (1)
Gross job gains	107,909	110,344	98,762	102,189	98,922	6.8	6.8	6.1	6.3	6.2
At expanding establishments	90,992	91,155	79,374	85,854	81,633	5.7	5.6	4.9	5.3	5.1
At opening establishments	16,917	19,189	19,388	16,335	17,289	1.1	1.2	1.2	1.0	1.1
Gross job losses	94,961	94,750	107,998	108,807	100,050	5.9	5.8	6.7	6.8	6.2
At contracting establishments	78,012	81,361	91,954	93,000	85,312	4.8	5.0	5.7	5.8	5.3
At closing establishments	16,949	13,389	16,044	15,807	14,738	1.1	0.8	1.0	1.0	0.9
Net employment change (2)	12,948	15,594	-9,236	-6,618	-1,128	0.9	1.0	-0.6	-0.5	0.0
Construction
Gross job gains	17,435	12,472	13,305	13,641	13,899	12.5	8.8	9.5	9.9	9.9
At expanding establishments	15,807	10,177	11,149	12,127	12,438	11.3	7.2	8.0	8.8	8.9
At opening establishments	1,628	2,295	2,156	1,514	1,461	1.2	1.6	1.5	1.1	1.0
Gross job losses	10,627	15,869	14,864	14,864	10,897	7.6	11.1	10.6	10.7	7.8
At contracting establishments	9,107	14,402	13,136	13,205	9,656	6.5	10.1	9.4	9.5	6.9
At closing establishments	1,520	1,467	1,728	1,659	1,241	1.1	1.0	1.2	1.2	0.9
Net employment change (2)	6,808	-3,397	-1,559	-1,223	3,002	4.9	-2.3	-1.1	-0.8	2.1
Manufacturing
Gross job gains	5,787	6,181	5,985	5,642	4,924	4.0	4.2	4.0	3.9	3.5
At expanding establishments	5,242	5,684	5,490	5,104	4,523	3.6	3.9	3.7	3.5	3.2
At opening establishments	545	497	495	538	401	0.4	0.3	0.3	0.4	0.3
Gross job losses	5,921	5,930	7,266	7,919	6,564	4.0	4.1	5.0	5.4	4.6
At contracting establishments	5,209	5,247	6,583	7,428	5,935	3.5	3.6	4.5	5.1	4.2
At closing establishments	712	683	683	491	629	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.3	0.4
Net employment change (2)	-134	251	-1,281	-2,277	-1,640	0.0	0.1	-1.0	-1.5	-1.1
Wholesale trade
Gross job gains	3,748	3,384	3,261	3,208	2,835	5.1	4.6	4.5	4.4	4.0
At expanding establishments	3,092	2,822	2,776	2,650	2,418	4.2	3.8	3.8	3.6	3.4
At opening establishments	656	562	485	558	417	0.9	0.8	0.7	0.8	0.6
Gross job losses	2,879	3,039	3,446	4,265	3,109	3.9	4.1	4.7	5.9	4.3
At contracting establishments	2,223	2,456	2,786	3,573	2,542	3.0	3.3	3.8	4.9	3.5
At closing establishments	656	583	660	692	567	0.9	0.8	0.9	1.0	0.8
Net employment change (2)	869	345	-185	-1,057	-274	1.2	0.5	-0.2	-1.5	-0.3
Retail trade
Gross job gains	13,736	15,181	14,103	14,502	13,029	6.0	6.6	6.0	6.2	5.5
At expanding establishments	11,674	12,910	11,708	12,273	10,830	5.1	5.6	5.0	5.2	4.6
At opening establishments	2,062	2,271	2,395	2,229	2,199	0.9	1.0	1.0	1.0	0.9
Gross job losses	13,688	11,880	13,960	12,805	13,521	6.0	5.2	6.0	5.5	5.7
At contracting establishments	11,743	10,528	12,291	11,247	11,785	5.1	4.6	5.3	4.8	5.0
At closing establishments	1,945	1,352	1,669	1,558	1,736	0.9	0.6	0.7	0.7	0.7
Net employment change (2)	48	3,301	143	1,697	-492	0.0	1.4	0.0	0.7	-0.2
Transportation and warehousing
Gross job gains	4,377	5,128	3,686	3,710	4,192	5.8	6.6	4.7	4.9	5.6
At expanding establishments	3,794	4,523	2,667	3,110	3,544	5.0	5.8	3.4	4.1	4.7
At opening establishments	583	605	1,019	600	648	0.8	0.8	1.3	0.8	0.9
Gross job losses	2,912	3,416	5,541	5,007	4,586	3.8	4.4	7.2	6.6	6.1
At contracting establishments	2,438	2,952	4,867	4,541	3,939	3.2	3.8	6.3	6.0	5.2
At closing establishments	474	464	674	466	647	0.6	0.6	0.9	0.6	0.9
Net employment change (2)	1,465	1,712	-1,855	-1,297	-394	2.0	2.2	-2.5	-1.7	-0.5
Information
Gross job gains	2,262	3,723	1,732	3,068	1,926	8.8	14.3	6.6	11.8	7.3
At expanding establishments	1,872	3,518	1,487	2,888	1,719	7.3	13.5	5.7	11.1	6.5
At opening establishments	390	205	245	180	207	1.5	0.8	0.9	0.7	0.8
Gross job losses	3,623	1,359	2,987	1,979	3,822	14.0	5.2	11.5	7.5	14.4
At contracting establishments	3,279	1,130	2,603	1,837	3,609	12.7	4.3	10.0	7.0	13.6
At closing establishments	344	229	384	142	213	1.3	0.9	1.5	0.5	0.8
Net employment change (2)	-1,361	2,364	-1,255	1,089	-1,896	-5.2	9.1	-4.9	4.3	-7.1
Financial activities
Gross job gains	5,333	4,765	4,698	4,300	4,271	6.0	5.3	5.3	4.9	4.9
At expanding establishments	4,385	3,572	3,700	3,590	3,397	4.9	4.0	4.2	4.1	3.9
At opening establishments	948	1,193	998	710	874	1.1	1.3	1.1	0.8	1.0
Gross job losses	4,809	4,754	5,105	4,751	4,982	5.4	5.3	5.8	5.4	5.7
At contracting establishments	3,659	3,969	4,065	3,865	4,016	4.1	4.4	4.6	4.4	4.6
At closing establishments	1,150	785	1,040	886	966	1.3	0.9	1.2	1.0	1.1
Net employment change (2)	524	11	-407	-451	-711	0.6	0.0	-0.5	-0.5	-0.8
Professional and business services
Gross job gains	17,000	20,477	17,630	17,986	16,778	8.1	9.5	8.2	8.4	7.9
At expanding establishments	13,705	16,350	14,135	14,579	13,444	6.5	7.6	6.6	6.8	6.3
At opening establishments	3,295	4,127	3,495	3,407	3,334	1.6	1.9	1.6	1.6	1.6
Gross job losses	15,547	15,144	18,748	18,327	17,301	7.3	7.0	8.7	8.6	8.1
At contracting establishments	12,121	12,516	15,007	14,065	14,116	5.7	5.8	7.0	6.6	6.6
At closing establishments	3,426	2,628	3,741	4,262	3,185	1.6	1.2	1.7	2.0	1.5
Net employment change (2)	1,453	5,333	-1,118	-341	-523	0.8	2.5	-0.5	-0.2	-0.2
Education and health services
Gross job gains	13,578	12,185	12,256	12,875	13,585	4.8	4.2	4.3	4.5	4.7
At expanding establishments	11,691	10,085	9,522	10,830	11,580	4.1	3.5	3.3	3.8	4.0
At opening establishments	1,887	2,100	2,734	2,045	2,005	0.7	0.7	1.0	0.7	0.7
Gross job losses	9,914	10,695	11,345	12,830	10,802	3.5	3.7	4.0	4.5	3.7
At contracting establishments	7,740	8,886	9,130	10,681	8,724	2.7	3.1	3.2	3.7	3.0
At closing establishments	2,174	1,809	2,215	2,149	2,078	0.8	0.6	0.8	0.8	0.7
Net employment change (2)	3,664	1,490	911	45	2,783	1.3	0.5	0.3	0.0	1.0
Leisure and hospitality
Gross job gains	17,113	19,203	16,174	16,661	16,613	7.7	8.6	7.2	7.3	7.3
At expanding establishments	13,483	15,318	11,930	13,206	12,362	6.1	6.9	5.3	5.8	5.4
At opening establishments	3,630	3,885	4,244	3,455	4,251	1.6	1.7	1.9	1.5	1.9
Gross job losses	17,243	15,451	14,716	15,416	16,286	7.8	6.9	6.5	6.8	7.2
At contracting establishments	14,132	13,211	12,703	13,242	14,085	6.4	5.9	5.6	5.8	6.2
At closing establishments	3,111	2,240	2,013	2,174	2,201	1.4	1.0	0.9	1.0	1.0
Net employment change (2)	-130	3,752	1,458	1,245	327	-0.1	1.7	0.7	0.5	0.1
Other services (3)
Gross job gains	3,154	3,243	3,036	3,364	3,303	7.1	7.3	6.8	7.5	7.3
At expanding establishments	2,587	2,691	2,414	2,640	2,620	5.8	6.1	5.4	5.9	5.8
At opening establishments	567	552	622	724	683	1.3	1.2	1.4	1.6	1.5
Gross job losses	3,131	2,843	3,184	3,046	3,288	7.1	6.4	7.1	6.8	7.3
At contracting establishments	2,556	2,406	2,595	2,497	2,713	5.8	5.4	5.8	5.6	6.0
At closing establishments	575	437	589	549	575	1.3	1.0	1.3	1.2	1.3
Net employment change (2)	23	400	-148	318	15	0.0	0.9	-0.3	0.7	0.0
(1) Includes unclassified sector not shown separately. (2) The net employment change is the difference between total gross job gains and total gross job losses. See the Technical Note for further information. (3) Except public administration.

Table 2. Private sector gross job gains and losses as a percent of total employment by state, seasonally adjusted

State	Gross job gains as a percent of employment (3 months ended)					Gross job losses as a percent of employment (3 months ended)
	Sept. 2014	Dec. 2014	Mar. 2015	June 2015	Sept. 2015	Sept. 2014	Dec. 2014	Mar. 2015	June 2015	Sept. 2015
United States(1)	6.3	6.6	5.9	6.4	6.1	5.8	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.8
Alabama	5.9	6.0	5.6	5.9	5.8	5.5	5.2	5.4	5.3	5.6
Alaska	9.5	10.6	10.4	10.6	9.0	10.4	10.4	9.2	10.8	10.2
Arizona	6.4	7.0	6.0	5.9	6.8	5.5	5.3	5.7	5.7	5.4
Arkansas	6.0	6.6	5.4	5.9	6.1	5.5	5.1	5.7	5.3	5.2
California	7.1	7.4	6.8	6.8	6.9	6.2	6.4	6.2	6.5	5.8
Colorado	7.3	7.0	6.9	7.0	7.1	6.1	6.1	6.1	6.4	6.4
Connecticut	5.2	5.4	4.8	5.8	5.1	5.3	5.2	5.1	4.8	5.8
Delaware	6.3	7.0	5.7	7.6	6.1	6.2	5.4	7.3	5.6	6.1
District of Columbia	5.7	5.5	5.5	6.2	6.2	5.4	5.3	5.4	5.4	5.5
Florida	7.3	7.1	6.3	6.9	6.8	6.1	6.0	5.6	5.9	5.8
Georgia	6.8	6.9	6.2	6.7	6.5	5.9	5.5	5.6	5.7	5.9
Hawaii	5.3	5.2	4.9	4.9	5.1	4.5	4.4	4.8	5.0	4.8
Idaho	7.5	8.0	9.1	7.5	7.8	7.3	7.0	7.0	7.1	7.1
Illinois	5.7	6.2	5.8	6.2	5.4	5.8	5.5	5.7	5.2	5.7
Indiana	5.4	6.3	5.3	5.7	5.4	5.3	5.0	5.3	5.1	5.3
Iowa	5.8	6.1	5.9	6.1	5.6	5.8	5.6	5.4	5.9	6.0
Kansas	5.7	6.2	5.7	6.0	5.7	5.8	5.4	5.8	5.8	5.7
Kentucky	6.2	6.6	5.5	6.4	6.0	5.5	5.3	6.0	5.5	5.6
Louisiana	6.8	6.8	6.1	6.3	6.2	5.9	5.8	6.7	6.8	6.2
Maine	6.7	7.2	6.5	8.0	6.5	7.0	7.2	7.0	6.4	7.1
Maryland	6.5	6.7	5.9	7.0	6.5	6.3	6.2	6.2	5.9	6.3
Massachusetts	5.7	6.0	5.1	6.3	5.4	5.5	5.2	5.4	5.0	5.6
Michigan	5.4	6.2	5.2	6.1	5.4	5.7	5.2	5.1	5.2	5.7
Minnesota	5.6	5.8	5.6	6.1	5.4	5.7	5.4	5.2	5.2	5.9
Mississippi	6.2	6.9	5.5	6.3	6.2	6.0	5.4	6.4	5.9	5.8
Missouri	5.7	6.3	5.6	6.0	5.7	5.7	5.1	5.4	5.2	5.5
Montana	8.1	8.5	9.1	8.0	7.6	8.1	8.0	7.2	8.4	7.7
Nebraska	6.0	6.2	6.1	5.9	6.0	5.7	5.6	5.6	5.7	5.5
Nevada	6.6	6.6	6.3	6.2	6.2	5.7	5.3	5.3	5.7	5.3
New Hampshire	5.9	6.9	5.7	6.8	6.0	6.3	6.0	5.7	5.9	6.3
New Jersey	6.3	6.9	5.8	7.1	6.3	6.4	6.2	6.0	5.9	6.1
New Mexico	6.6	7.2	6.4	6.7	6.5	6.1	6.1	6.5	6.8	6.5
New York	6.4	6.6	5.9	6.7	6.3	6.0	5.8	5.9	5.8	6.0
North Carolina	6.2	6.5	5.9	6.4	6.1	5.7	5.4	5.7	5.4	5.6
North Dakota	8.2	8.7	7.1	6.7	7.1	6.9	6.7	8.7	11.3	8.5
Ohio	5.5	6.1	5.4	6.0	5.4	5.5	5.1	5.6	5.3	5.6
Oklahoma	6.2	6.7	5.7	6.0	6.0	5.6	5.5	6.1	6.5	6.1
Oregon	7.0	7.1	6.9	6.9	7.0	6.2	6.3	5.7	6.1	6.4
Pennsylvania	5.2	5.6	4.9	5.6	5.2	5.1	4.9	5.2	4.9	5.2
Rhode Island	5.9	6.4	5.3	6.6	5.8	5.8	5.6	5.8	5.8	5.7
South Carolina	6.0	6.8	5.7	6.5	6.2	5.8	5.0	5.5	5.6	5.8
South Dakota	6.2	6.3	6.3	6.3	5.9	5.9	5.8	5.7	5.9	6.1
Tennessee	5.7	6.2	5.2	5.9	5.8	5.0	4.8	5.2	4.8	5.1
Texas	6.1	6.4	5.8	6.0	5.9	5.1	5.0	5.7	5.5	5.5
Utah	7.1	7.2	7.3	6.9	7.0	6.0	5.8	5.9	6.1	5.9
Vermont	6.9	7.5	6.8	7.3	6.9	7.3	6.7	6.8	7.0	7.6
Virginia	5.6	5.8	6.0	6.4	6.9	5.8	5.5	5.6	5.4	5.9
Washington	7.1	6.9	6.7	7.2	6.5	6.2	6.1	5.6	5.8	6.7
West Virginia	6.2	6.6	6.0	6.3	5.8	6.5	6.0	6.7	6.6	6.8
Wisconsin	5.5	5.8	5.4	5.7	5.5	5.6	5.2	5.1	5.2	5.6
Wyoming	8.3	9.3	8.9	7.8	8.3	8.5	8.0	8.9	10.9	8.7
Puerto Rico	5.6	6.4	5.3	5.8	6.2	6.0	4.9	6.4	6.8	6.3
Virgin Islands	6.6	6.2	5.5	6.3	5.8	5.6	5.6	5.9	6.7	7.4
(1) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.